Honda Motor Co. said Thursday the recall is for brakes that can suddenly kick in even when the driver isn't braking.

Carrie Carvalho asked the federal government to investigate after she was riding in her 2005 Pilot which started braking, causing her to veer off the road. She was going about 45 mph at the time of the October 2010 incident.

Carvalho said neither the dealer nor Honda would address her complaint, even though she found similar complaints online from other Pilot owners.

The car has been sitting in her yard, unused, while she makes payments on a car she is afraid to drive.

Massachusetts State Rep. Sean Garballey was riding in the Pilot with Carvalho, her boyfriend Rob Marchant and Marchant's 8-year-old son at the time of the incident.

Garballey told USA Today he wrote a letter to Honda describing what happened and asking the company to take "the necessary steps to ensure these unfortunate events don't happen again."

Sixteen drivers in other countries filed complaints similar to Carvalho's.